Heart & Cardiology/Holter Monitor

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Expert: David Richardson - 4/18/2013

QuestionHi Dr Richardson,
I am a 57 year old male and had a minor heart attack 12 years ago.I know there is no such thing as a minor heart attack, but I say minor only because my symptoms were heart burn, vomiting and dull pain in both arms, no tightening or pain in my chest at all. There was a piece of plaque in the artery which dislocated and acted like a valve which then blocked that artery about 90%.
The bottom line is that I had a stent put in my left anterior descending artery and have felt fine ever since.
Since then I have been doing great with no side effects. Even my EKG has been normal, stress tests normal and echo normal. In your opinion, how many times a year should I wear the Holter monitor for 24hrs. Thank you so much. John

AnswerHello Ann,

Zero. With normal echo and stress, you need not fear any serious rhythm disturbance. You may have skipped beats, but they are normal. Skipped beats are normal heart activity, easy to understand as normal from knowledge of the heart's electrical system and occurring in about half of us. They don't mean you have heart disease or will in the future develop heart disease or any cardiac catastrophe.